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Month: January 2015

Had the opportunity to spend some time with former Toronto Raptors fan favorite Morris Peterson who has joined the broadcast crew. I ended up staying an extra hour or so just because Mo Pete was so kind and generous with his time – really good dude.

Former Toronto Raptor Morris Peterson takes direction while preparing to broadcast before the Raptors and Atlanta Hawks basketball game with fellow anchors Rod Black, left, and Leo Rautins at the ACC in Toronto/

Former Toronto Raptor Morris Peterson prepares for the broadcast of the Raptors and Atlanta Hawks basketball game at the ACC in Toronto.

Former Toronto Raptor Morris Peterson waves goodnight to his nearly two-year-old son Morris Peterson III via FaceTime before the broadcast of the Raptors and Atlanta Hawks basketball game at the ACC in Toronto.

Former Toronto Raptor Morris Peterson, second from left, hugs a fan during a break in the broadcast of the Raptors and Atlanta Hawks basketball game at the ACC in Toronto.

2014 was a strange year for me. I left the National Post to again pursue freelance work when life happened and shooting pictures became the furthest thing from my mind. Eventually, however, work became a decent distraction and I managed to get a few things in focus while avoiding bankruptcy.

In any event, here are some pictures that I remember from last year.

Mayor Rob Ford jokingly mimics a boxer’s defensive pose during a city council vote on the 2014 capital and operating budgets at City Hall in Toronto Thursday, January 30, 2014.

1 of 3 – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford runs into a fire hydrant while celebrating at Maple Leaf Square in Toronto following the Canadian men’s hockey team winning the gold medal Olympic final 3-0 against Sweden in Sochi, Russia Sunday morning, February 23, 2014.

2 of 3

3 of 3

Sister Helena Burns, a hockey-loving Catholic nun, wears a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey while working at her desk in her Toronto office. Sister Helena belongs to the Daughters of St. Paul who embrace technology and evangelize through various media.

Ice forms on a storefront window as a man sits with a coffee Tuesday night, January 7, 2014 as Environment Canada issued a weather statement due to a polar vortex.

A man walks through steam rising from a grate at the corner of King Street and Bay Street during a frigid day in Toronto on Tuesday, January 21, 2014.

A woman walks through a shaft of light under a train bridge in Toronto, Ont. on Wednesday, June 11, 2014.

Dave McKay, newly appointed CEO of RBC, on Bay Street in Toronto on Friday, July 25, 2014.

Ontario Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne acknowledges supporters at the Liberal’s election night headquarters in Toronto after winning a majority government on Thursday, June 12, 2014. Wynne became both the first female premier of Ontario and the first openly gay head of government in Canada.

Former CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi, centre, is escorted out of court after being released on bail in Toronto on Wednesday, November 26, 2014.

It’s always difficult to photograph a funeral and this past Saturday’s for 14-year-old Amaria (affectionately known as Momo) was no different. In addition, this was also the first funeral that I’ve had to attend since my mother’s passing, which fished out some uncomfortable emotion.

So, as usual, the media stayed back and gave the family their deserved space. We had a clear view of the church’s front door until it began to snow and rain at an incredible rate. When I looked through the camera, I couldn’t make out a person standing 6o metres away.

As people started pouring out of the church, I tried to manual focus through the snow, which wasn’t working until I could faintly make out someone holding flowers. The bouquet gave me something to track and I managed to shoot only four sharp frames of what turned out to be Crystal Diljohn, Amaria’s mother.

When this is all said and done, I hope the picture helps viewers better empathize with the incredible sadness that this mother must be feeling. At least I hope that’s why I’m there documenting such tragedy.

Crystal Diljohn carries flowers while being helped into a car following the funeral service for her 14-year-old daughter Amaria Diljohn at the Malvern Christian Assembly in Toronto on Saturday, January 3, 2015. A TTC bus fatally struck the 14-year-old last week and the driver failed to stay at the scene. Darren Calabrese for The Globe and Mail